Italian transport minister says collapse in port city is likely to be ‘an immense tragedy’
 |
| The Morandi bridge in Genoa, part of which collapsed on Tuesday morning |
A motorway bridge has collapsed in the northern Italian city of Genoa in what the transport minister said was likely to be “an immense tragedy”.
The head of the local ambulance service said there were “dozens of dead”, according to unconfirmed reports by the Italian news agency Adnkronos.
A local news website, Il Secolo XIX, reported at least 20 victims, and said more people could be buried in the rubble. About 10 injured people had been taken to hospital.
A 200-metre section of the Morandi Bridge on the A10 motorway came down in an industrial area of the port city during a sudden and violent storm, trapping cars and trucks under the rubble, the private broadcaster Sky TG24 reported.
Television images showed the viaduct in the mist with a huge chunk missing. The Italian fire service said the bridge collapsed at about midday (1000 GMT).Disastro a #Genova. Crolla il ponte Autostradale. Stiamo cercando informazioni. pic.twitter.com/f2Z0c91JLZ— Sergio Battelli (@BattelliSergio) August 14, 2018
A fire service spokesperson told Agence France-Presse that the bridge had mostly fallen on rail tracks 100 metres below and that “cars and trucks” had fallen with the rubble.
 |
| A truck stopped near the edge of the collapsed bridge |
A witness told Sky Italia television he saw “eight or nine” vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed in what he said was an “apocalyptic scene”.
The transport minister, Danilo Toninelli, said in a tweet that he was “following with great apprehension what seems like an immense tragedy”.
Genoa is located between the sea and the mountains of north-west Italy. Its rugged terrain means motorways run through the city and the surrounding area via long viaducts and tunnels.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment